"A Lian, show yourself!"
Ji Xiang activated the Great Ming National Might, and with a roar, the two palace maids immediately cried out in agony!
The flames spewing from their seven orifices suddenly rose several feet higher, then swayed and detached from the maids' bodies. The maids' screams echoed from the pyre as they rolled on the ground, but soon the flames on their bodies gradually extinguished.
The fire spirits had only forcibly occupied their bodies; they could not seize their three souls. The human body, the three souls, and the seven spirits are both separate and interconnected.
The seven spirits are the source of control for bodily actions. If a fire spirit seizes control of the seven spirits and uses its own spectral form to act in place of the human seven spirits, then the human three souls can only watch helplessly as their bodies become puppets, beyond their control.
The two A Lians, having been shaken out, rolled on the ground and tried to flee, transforming into fiery children. However, Ji Xiang quickly strode out of the hall, pointed forward, and simultaneously activated the Great Ming National Might, unleashing a voice of deterrence!
"Do not move!"
Hum! The minds of the two A Lians were instantly struck as if by a giant hammer. In the unseen realm, a force of ten thousand jin seemed to press down on their shoulders. The two little fire figures, like statues in a game of "Red Light, Green Light," froze in place!
"Ha!"
Seeing that the Great Ming National Might had such a powerful effect, Ji Xiang narrowed his eyes, revealing his white teeth in a sinister grin.
It seemed his National Might directly affected the targets, and its usage and power were different from the divine beasts derived from the National Might on the civil and military officials.
Previously, the Qilin on Luo Sigong, the Southern Commander, had shown no reaction to these fire spirits and fire gods.
Ji Xiang pondered for a moment, analyzed with his mind, and instantly understood.
The divine beasts were blind, but he was not.
This was the principle. When dealing with these enfeoffed true gods, this should be an active skill.
The two Embroidered Uniform Guards also recovered from their shock. They looked at Ji Xiang, then at the two immobilized little fire figures, their expressions a mixture of amazement. They quickly said to Ji Xiang, "Thank you, Daoist Master, for the rescue!"
Ji Xiang nodded to them. "You two need not be alarmed. I see these little fire spirits as mere banners to be sold and heads to be taken."
Upon hearing this, the two Embroidered Uniform Guards breathed a sigh of relief.
The last person the Daoist Master had described as a banner to be sold and a head to be taken had already been scattered into nothingness.
When the Daoist Master acted, it was like selling banners and taking heads; when the Daoist Master made a move, there was no life left.
The two little fire figures were also stiff, not knowing why they had stopped moving.
"Why are we standing still?"
"We don't know, we can't move!"
The two little fire figures were uncharacteristically frightened. One of them even let out a strange child's cry:
"This isn't fun, it isn't fun! The Forbidden City isn't fun! This person is so fierce!"
Before the other little fire figure could reply, Ji Xiang had already heard their conversation and let out a heavy snort!
"Wicked creatures!"
This sound made the two little fire figures suffer immensely, and they cried out in pain.
Ji Xiang cursed, "You seized the seven spirits of the palace maids and killed living people, all just for fun!"
"You wicked creatures! To take pleasure in killing, and yet to be able to steal the power of true gods and wreak havoc in the Forbidden City!"
Ji Xiang repeatedly cursed angrily:
"Stand straight!"
"Behave yourselves!"
"Crouch down!"
"Hands on your heads!"
The bodies of the two little fire figures involuntarily began to move according to Ji Xiang's instructions. They first stood rigidly, then, unable to speak, slowly crouched down, clasping their hands on their heads!
Ji Xiang walked over. The two Embroidered Uniform Guards dragged the two palace maids aside. Zhuo Deyuan, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, felt the noses of the palace maids and found they were still breathing. Although they were burned, they were still alive.
However, Shi Xiang, another Embroidered Uniform Guard, showed regret on his face:
"They've become like this, it's better to be dead than alive. It would have been more merciful if they had been burned to death just now."
The Embroidered Uniform Guards were usually unsympathetic to others, but because they had almost suffered the same fate just now, they now felt a sense of empathy.
Ji Xiang said to the two Embroidered Uniform Guards, "Do you have any arrows?"
The two Embroidered Uniform Guards exchanged glances. Shi Xiang took out a hand crossbow from his person and said to Ji Xiang, "We only have hand crossbows, and their range is not precise, only twenty paces, with three bolts."
Zhuo Yuande added, somewhat embarrassed, "Because we were searching the Longde Hall, it wasn't a major event, so although hand crossbows are our equipment, but..."
Ji Xiang understood. "I understand, I understand. Because I am a young Daoist priest with no strength to even tie a chicken, you don't need to bring crossbows. With so many of you, holding the red court staff could have made me cry out 'mother'."
The two Embroidered Uniform Guards let out dry laughs.
Who would dare say they could make this Daoist Master cry out 'mother' with a court staff now.
"Daoist Master, we are all crude soldiers and don't understand magic, but we can see that even swords cannot harm these spirits. What use would crossbow bolts be? Moreover, this crossbow only has a range of twenty paces..."
Ji Xiang smiled. "No, let alone twenty paces, ten paces is enough!"
"Some spirits have specific ways of being killed. For items that can subdue spirits and ghosts without requiring magic, it's not just firearms."
"As long as one masters specific methods, they can be equally effective against certain spirits and ghosts."
The two Embroidered Uniform Guards looked curious and handed the hand crossbow to Ji Xiang, but Ji Xiang did not take it. Instead, he told them, "Hold the hand crossbows, but do not load the bolts. They will be useful later."
Then, he said to the two little fire figures who were crouching with their hands on their heads, "Reveal your masterminds, or I will kill you."
"I have a way to kill you! If you don't believe me, try it!"
Activating his National Might, he roared again, "Speak!"
The two little fire figures were immediately able to speak. They were terrified, but they still bargained:
"We'll tell, we'll tell. Although the adults said not to tell, if you don't kill us, we'll really tell!"
Ji Xiang angrily said, "How dare you bargain with me!"
"A monk does not speak falsehoods. As long as you tell, 'I' will not kill you. Speak quickly!"
The two little fire figures looked at each other and immediately spilled their beans, betraying their teammates.
Of course, they did not know the relationship between Song Wuji and Zhu Changluo. This was also why Song Wuji had told Zhu Changluo that as long as Zhu Changluo carried Song Wuji's incense and qi, the fire monsters in the fire scene would not be able to approach him. These fire monsters referred to the A Lians.
"When the Emperor reaches the West Six Palaces, he will be trapped inside!"
"The A Lians have already prepared. Our two brothers, the Red Robe and White Robe, are waiting inside!"
"We came here to find Master Song to tell him that the Emperor has fallen into the trap!"
"Fire Lord is also coming soon! She will appear from the Fire God Temple in Shichahai, but we don't know where she will enter from. The A Lians only know that she will go to find the Emperor. The A Lians will soon not be able to play! Fire Lord said we are true gods now, and we will be worshipped by everyone in the future, and we can no longer be so willful!"
"Fire Lord said that in the imperial palace of the Great Ming, there is the Unburning Karma Fire. The A Lians don't know what it is, only that it is very powerful, very powerful!"
Ji Xiang seized a few keywords: "Fire Lord? What is your Fire Lord's name! What is her identity?"
"What does the Unburning Karma Fire refer to?"
"Very powerful? How powerful?"
The two little fire figures could not answer. Seeing Ji Xiang's anger increase by three parts, one A Lian quickly said,
"A Lian only knows that the Unburning Karma Fire is very powerful. Fire Lord just said that it can allow all the people in Shun Tian Prefecture to live good lives. If Shun Tian lives a good life, then the whole world will live a good life!"
"Then we will all be worshipped by people in various places!"
"We don't know anything else, we really don't know! The A Lians are too weak. If it were Brother Chi Zhi and the others, they would know!"
This little fire figure mentioned Chi Zhi's name, and was immediately cursed by another little fire figure, "You idiot, how could you say Brother Chi Zhi's name!"
That little fire figure immediately shut its mouth and said aggrievedly, "It's ruined, I said Brother Chi Zhi's name!"
"Alright, Chi Zhi Boy, I've seen it long ago."
Ji Xiang narrowed his eyes and asked a few more questions. Seeing that these two little fire figures could not reveal anything substantial, he beckoned to the two Embroidered Uniform Guards.
"I promised them I wouldn't kill them, so you two do it."
Although he said this, Ji Xiang actually had no way to act.
He had no blood.
Upon hearing Ji Xiang's words, the two little fire figures were immediately filled with terror and cried out anxiously, "You're lying! You're lying!"
Ji Xiang turned his head halfway, his eyes holding a hint of coldness:
"You are not human."
"And I didn't lie to you. I won't kill you, but I will tell others how to kill you."
"Now I want you to lead the way. You know the path from the Inner Palace to the West Six Palaces, don't you!"
Although Ji Xiang was unified with the National Might and could grasp the movements of everyone in the Forbidden City, he could not spy on the Emperor's location.
After all, in terms of subordination, the Emperor was the one with the highest level of National Might. Just like these fire gods possessing National Might, their magic could not harm the Emperor; they could only rely on mortals to set fires for assassination.
Low-level operations are often simpler and more effective than the flashy moves of high-level play, making them unpredictable.
How could the lower-level National Might control the movements of the higher-level National Might?
The two little fire figures were terrified. One of them exclaimed in anger, "We can't take you there! If Brother Chi Zhi sees us taking you, we'll die too!"
Ji Xiang threatened, "Take me there, and I will protect you from death! I've already killed Song Wuji, you can completely trust me! Otherwise, I will kill you right now!"
The two little fire figures mumbled, and one of them encouraged itself, saying to its companion, "He knows our real names, but he might not really know how to kill us. Perhaps he's just trying to scare us!"
Another little fire figure fearfully replied, "Yes, yes! He can't kill us, hehe... The way A Lian dies, only the Tang people know..."
"Oh, only the Tang people know?"
Ji Xiang's voice was like that of a death omen!
"You two, you can draw blood to anoint the arrows. When I say the next sentence, no matter what it is, just shoot the arrows!"
The two Embroidered Uniform Guards immediately stained their arrowheads with their blood. Amidst the terrified shouts of the two little fire figures, Ji Xiang spoke!
"Shoot my A Lian's head!"
With a hum, a crossbow bolt flew out, directly killing one fire spirit. The other little fire figure was stunned with fear. Ji Xiang then slowly said, "To kill you, I would need to use talismans, which is quite unworthy. I told you, there are many ways to kill you!"
"You fire spirits and monsters, possessing and killing people, dare to call yourselves true gods? Some deserve to die, some are innocent, but all have their own laws, heavenly punishment, and retribution to manage them! Is it your place to commit such slaughter?"
"True gods of the Three Days do not possess the bodies of living beings. If any descend, they are demons!"
"What kind of true gods are you? In the end, you are all just demons!"